2008 Acadia AWD Steering squeek

My wife's 2008 (103,000miles) Acadia has a squeek in the steering wheel like something in the steering column is rubbing. I have not tried to tear into it yet to see what is going on. We bought this rig used a couple of years ago, and it has had the problem for the last year or so. The wife was talking to a friend last evening who said it is the rack and pinion, and they had their's replaced. I do not believe my problem is the rack and pinion or the pump. Any ideas? Where is the battery in this POS? I can't find it.

My wife's 2008 (103,000miles) Acadia has a squeek in the steering wheel like something in the steering column is rubbing. I have not tried to tear into it yet to see what is going on. We bought this rig used a couple of years ago, and it has had the problem for the last year or so. The wife was talking to a friend last evening who said it is the rack and pinion, and they had their's replaced. I do not believe my problem is the rack and pinion or the pump. Any ideas? Where is the battery in this POS? I can't find it.

Yes, the noise is coming from the rack and pinion. The seals in the stubshaft housing react to the power steering fluid and cause that noise, usually after driving for a short while and may get worse as it warms up. It's not a safety issue, more of an annoyance. There is a replacement shaft housing that comes with new seals. The power steering system is first flushed with Dex 6, then the housing is replaced. The seals do not react to the Dex 6, so the noise will not return. If the steering gear boots are wet, then the steering gear is leaking and should be replaced. If this is done, the system should be flushed with Dex 6.

....and the battery is in the floor behind the passenger front seat. There is a cover with a retaining screw. A #15 torx bit will be needed.

Thanks a bunch for the reply! I would have had a hard time finding the battery. Will look into the squeak problem to see if there are any leaks. The local GM dealer may have someone that knows about problem with the squeak, but I am not taking any bets on that. Thanks again. I will post any fixes that we get done on the Acadia. My wife loves it except for the steering squeak, I tolerate it.

A leak is not the defining factor of the squeak. It would be a cheaper fix to just do the housing, but if the rack and pinion is leaking, it's just kind of pointless to put new parts on it. On the other hand, those racks are not cheap, and being a AWD model you are looking at about a 6.0hrs job plus the alignment.

Ignored the squeak, and it has gone away! Now have 160,000 miles on this rig, and none of the feared problems have appeared yet. The transmission upshifts into high with a hesitation and an increase in RPM before it catches high gear at times, has been doing this since we bought it at 84,000 miles. 76,000 miles later it still acts the same on occasion. I notice the hesitation in engaging high gear when topping a hill where it has downshifted on the incline and tops the hill then up shifts into high. Must be a GM feature?